A History in every bottle

Stone Castle Vineyards and Winery a hidden gem in the heart of Rahovec Valley, is a private estate that comprises more than 5552 acres of premium vineyards and land.

The Winery was built in 1952 and since 2006 it has been owned and operated by the Gecaj Family.

To date the company has a wine making capacity of ten to thirteen million liters a year and the capacity to process approximately 70,000 tons of wine grape annually. A big wave of investment and innovation valued over 15 million dollars has aided and advanced technological processing, professional training, revitalization of vines and much more.

There is an wine cellar with storage capacity of 50.000 HI in wooden barrels, all of which make it one of the largest privately owned wineries in Europe. Stone Castle Winery has current markets in the Balkans, Germany and Switzerland, as far as Africa, and now it is excited to be in the United States market.

Stone Castle takes great pride in growing the highest quality grape and producing approachable, premium wines, while combining the latest technological advances with traditional winemaking methods. From handpicking the grapes that meet quality standards to de-stemming and fermenting, aging in oak barrels, bottling, corking and labeling, there is so much that goes in every bottle of wine.

“Stone Castle according to storage capacity and its self-owned vineyards, is one of the largest Winery’s in Europe”.

Growth of Grapes

The Stone Castle Company owns 2200HA arable land from which over 600HA are active vineyards. Vineyards of the Stone Castle Company are positioned in the soft hillocks of Rahovec municipality in altitude from 350 to 520 meters of the sea level and are exposed to solar radiation during which enables production of grapes of a very high quality. Vineyards of the Stone Castle Company are cultivated under the supervision of experts and advanced agro-technical measures.

Harvesting

Grape harvesting at the Stone Castle is done manually by hand under the supervision of staff where the assessment of the technological maturity is done. Harvesting at Stone Castle begins in the early September and ends in the second half of October.

Storage

In this company, storage of the wine is done in stainless steel containers and in specific environments (mainly in underground tanks) for storage. The white wines are stored in stainless steel containers, while red in stainless steel tanks and quality wines in wooden barrels that Stone Castle has one of the largest wood underground basement capacity of 5,000,000 liters, where temperatures are constant throughout the year, from 13 to 16 º C. Storage of packaged wines is done in modern warehouse with a isolation system and constant temperature.

Market

After the privatization of Stone Castle in 2006, the company was focused in expanding its presence in the domestic market although the market was already highly competitive. But, having a clear vision and strategy for the future and being committed and dedicated, the company has managed to position itself and its products very well in the domestic market. As a result of a high quality and fast services, the company’s market share in the Kosovan market is above 65%. Beside domestic market, the main goal of the winery is to achieve a larger placement in the region, European and other international market. Thanks to the quality products and investment of its owner Mr. Rrustem Gecaj, the winery has managed to penetrate in regions such as, Europe, Asia, Africa and US market. Stone Castle Vineyards and Winery exports its products in: Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Albania, Canada and looking forward for United Kingdom, China and Belgium markets.